Forging tapered articles



' J. D. PUGH FORGING TAPERED ARTICLES Nov. 20, 1934.

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 16, 1930 Nov. 20, 1934.

J. D. PUGH FORGING TAPERED ART ICLES Filed July 16,1930 4-Sheets-Sheet 2 gwomtw Nov. 20, 1934. D, P H 1,981,326

FORGING TAPERED ARTICLES Filed July 16, 1950 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I 1?,15'- I I I -15- I 1% 4 .72 a; E z

Patented Nov. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES when PATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

This invention relates to die forging and has for its principal objects the provision of a novel and efficient method of die forging.

The method referred to is particularly adapted for the forging of elongated articles to which a taper is to be applied, such as, for example,

railway switch points.

Heretofore, switch points have been formed from rails of standard section by planing the sides of the head portions and base flanges of the rails to the proper taper and this mode of manufacture has been attended by considerable expense due to the multiplicity of operations required and the time consumed thereby.

By means of my invention, a switch point or a similar tapered article may be formed from the rail shaped blank by substantially a single operation, it being possible, if desired, to shape the various tapered portions practically simultaneously.

Further objects and features of novelty will be apparent from the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which several embodiments of my invention are illustrated by way of example.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of one arrangement of a plant in which my method may be pursued;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a switch point according to the present invention, the through rail and turnout to which it is applied being indicated in broken lines;

Figure 3 is a plan view of one embodiment of my improved die forging apparatus, a portion of which is shown in horizontal section;

Figure 4 is a view in elevation of the right end of the mechanism illustrated in Figure 3 with a portion shown in vertical section;

Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a similar view taken on line 6-6 of Figure 3;

Figures 7, 8, and 9 are views in plan, and side and enlarged end elevation respectively of one of the forging levers which is employed in shaping the base flange and web of the switch point in the embodiment of myinvention illus-- trated in Figures 3 and 4;

Figures 10 and 11 are views in end elevation and plan respectively, of the lever for applying the taper to one side of the head of the rail in this embodiment; the end view being on an enlarged scale;

Figures 12 and 13 are views in plan and en-- larged end elevation of the lever for tapering the other side of the rail head;

Figure 14 is an end View similar to Figure 4 but showing the die in closed position after the switch point has been formed;

Figure 15 is a fragmentary view similar to a portion of Figure 4 of another modification of my novel die forging apparatus in open position;

Figure 16 is a sectional view of this modification taken on a line corresponding to line 5-5 of the former embodiment shown in Figure 3;

Figures 1'7, 18, and 19 are perspective views of the base flange shaping lever and the two head shaping levers respectively forming elements of this modification of my apparatus;

Figure 20 is a fragmentary end view showing in closed position the apparatus illustrated in open position in Figure 15;

Figure .21 is an end View of the completed switch point; and

Figure 22 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 22-22 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, particularly to Figure 1 thereof, in which is illustrated diagrammatically a suggested optional layout of a plant embodying my novel die forging apparatus, the numeral 1 designates a continuous furnace of any suitable type for heating the elongated blanks from which the tapered articles are to be formed. Although the particular articles shown in certain of the other figures of drawings are switch points, my improved method and apparatus are not limited to the fabrication of these articles except as hereinafter claimed, but may be employed in shaping any similar article from a blank. The blanks are fed along the skids 2 to the furnace 1 by means of any suitable pusher mechanism 3. Upon emerging from the opposite end of the furnace the highly heated blanks are slid down the inclined skids 4 onto the roller table 5 from which they are successively fed into the forging die 6 by means of mechanism such as the pusher rod 7 adapted to be actuated by the pinch rolls 8. When forged to the desired configuration, the blanks are ejected from the die onto a continuation of roll table 5 from which the completed switch points are transferred to the storage skids shown at 9.

A typical product of my invention and one which forms the subject matter of one aspect of the same is the railway switch point illustrated in Figure 2 and designated generally by the numeral 10. It will be seen to comprise the head portion 11, and the base flange 12 and 13 connected by means of the usual web 14. The through rail of the track and the turnout are shown in broken lines and are designated by the numerals 15 and 16 respectively. The base flange 12 of the switch point 10 which is farther from the through rail is of the usual unchanged form but the opposite flange 13 is tapered, preferably by being bent upwardly into a vertical plane from the point 18 to the pointed or free end 19 of the switch. At this end 19, the base flange 13 is disposed in contact with the web 14 and preferably welded thereto as will be later more fully described.

The head 11 is laterally tapered upon the through rail side as from the point 20 to the end 19, and-upon the opposite or wheel flange contacting side as from the point 21 to the end 19. As will be described hereinafter, the head taper is preferably formed by a combined transverse and longitudinal flowing or extrusion of the metal of the head and the base flange taper is the result of a combined bending and flowing of the metal of the flange; These methods of fabrication result in the formation of a much stronger and superior switch point than those which are shaped by sawing or planing the base flanges and heads of the blanks and are vastly more economical to pursue than the former method.

In the drawings, there are illustrated two em bodiments'of my improved forging die, in both of which there is some extrusion of metal through the forward open end of the die, but

in which the greater part of the extrusion or flash is transverse or radially of the longitudinal axis of the blank. -In the preferred embodiment shown in Figures 3-14 inclusive, the extrusion is outward from the top of the head of the blank and in the modification illustrated in Figures 15-20 inclusive, the extrusion from the head passes downwardly toward the base flanges of the blank.

Many elements and features which are common to both embodiments are shown in Figures 3 and 4 and these will now be described. The forging die press 6 is provided with a substantially rectangular base or platen 25 upon which the die proper is adapted to rest. The relatively fixed member of the forging die is composed adapted to abut the raised portion or rib formed upon the platen 25, and the member 30 is adapted to be rigidly clamped at the left hand end by means of the set bolt 36 which is threaded through the curved boss 37 on the platen, and which is adaptedto abut the die part 32.

The fixed die member 30 is provided with the flared opening 39 into which the blanks which may be denoted 40 are inserted by means of the pusher rod 7, and is formed interiorly for a portion of its length with a hollow passageway conforming generally to the shape of the rail blanks 40. For a great portion of its length, however, the walls of this passageway are cut back to provide space for the horizontally pivoted forging or swaging levers 41, 42, and 43 which are adapted respectively to press the required taper on the base flange 13, the through rail side and the wheel flange contacting side of the head 11 respectively. These movable die members or levers 41, 42, and 43 are of the relative lengths required to apply the tapers vided with an arcuate outer end and a vertical slot 51.

The actuation arms 47, 48, and 49 maybe moved by anysuitable means, but the preferred mechanism is the one illustrated and is adapted to be operated by fluid pressure. Separate cylinders 53, 54, and of sizes and capacities appropriate to the work required are mounted upon the platen 25 and are provided with pistons 53, 54 and 55. Rigidly secured to the outer ends of said levers are the thrust heads 57, 58, and 59, which are provided with bifurcated ends having arcuate Walled slots 56 formed therein for the reception of the correspondingly formed ends of the arms 47, 48, and 49, to which the thrustheads are pivotally and slidably connected by means of the pins 60 which pass through the slots 51. Each of the cylinders is provided with the usual packing and fluid ports and auxiliary 7 piston return cylinders 61, 62, and 63 are provided, in which are adapted to reciprocate the auxiliary pistons exemplified by the piston 65 in Figure 4 which is connected to the main piston by means of rod '66. The thrust heads 57, 58, and 59 are preferably also provided with Fr spring return means as illustrated for example at 68 in connection with the head 58 which also serves to return the leversto open position.

The thrust heads are adapted to limit the operative movement of the levers by abutting the outer walls of the fixed die member 30.

When it becomes necessary to redress the 'work-.

ing faces of the levers due to wear, compensating amounts of metal may be removed from the faces 67 of the thrust heads which abut the walls of the die, so that the length of the working stroke of the levers will remain unchanged.

It will be readily seen that, by means of appropriate separately or jointly controlled fluid supply means, the actuating cylinders maybe operated either,simultaneously, successively, or in overlapping order in point of time. For instance, the longest lever 41 might come into oper ation first to bend or fold over the base .flange 13, this lever 41 would then be in depressed position to serve as a backing to the blank; while continuing this pressure, the two rail head levers 42 and 43 would then simultaneously come into action and form the headiof-the switch point.

It will be understood from the. disclosures herein that each of the levers 41, 42, and 43 are so designed that the pressure exerted upon the work increases progressively from zero to the maximum required from the points of contact nearest their respective pivot points to the right hand ends of the levers.

Referring now to the features peculiar to the embodiment shown in Figures 3-14 inclusive, it

will be noted that in this apparatus the surplus head metal is extruded upwardly into a space or pocket 70, clearly shown in Figure 14 as it appears when the swaging levers 42 and 43 are closed having completed their function of forming the tapered head 11. In Figure 5, which is a transverse sectional view through the die taken on line 5-5 of Figure 3 intersecting the levers 41 and 43 but to the left of the pivot point 45 of the lever 42, the pocket 70 is shown as it appears at this point when the lever 43 is retracted. Figure 6, being a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Figure 3 beyond the pivot points of both levers 42 and 43, shows the head of the blank 40 occupying the similarly shaped passageway through the fixed member 30 of the forging die.

As clearly shown in Figures 12, 13, and 14 the lever 42 is provided with a working face comprising the projecting ledge 72 having a vertical face and the laterally offset surface '73, the ledge 72 serving to swage the head portion upon the side upon which it is located to a tapered conformation indicated in Figures 2 and 11, and the offset surface 73 forming one of the walls of the pocket '70.

The lever 43 is formed in a somewhat similar manner, except that it is longer than lever 42 and its ledge 75 is formed with a working face 76 which gradually assumes an increasing inclination as the outer free end is approached as clearly shown in Figures 5, 10, 11, and 14. As will be readily understood this configuration is adapted to give to the head 11 the shape indicated in Figures 2 and 14. The cut away portion 77 of this lever forms the opposite wall of the pocket 70.

The elongated lever 41 which is adapted to swage the base flange 13 into its vertically bent or folded form, comprises the bottom ledge 80 which is adapted to enter the slot 81 in the part 31 of the fixed die and to underlie the base flanges 12 and 13 of the blank 40. The portion of the lever 41 nearest the pivot point 44 is intersected by the line 6-6 in Figure 3 and is shown in transverse section in Figure 6. It will be seen that the set back wall or face 82 which serves to swage the flange 13 is vertically disposed at this point throughout its height. From the point 83 to the outer end of the lever 41 there is found the gradually laterally and vertically tapered abutment 85 which extends inwardly and in the final position of the lever, abuts the Web 14 of the blank 40 as shown in Figure 14. Although there is a slight longitudinal flowing or extrusion of the metal of the flange 13, the greater effect of this swaging operation is to bend or fold the flange 13 to a diagonally directed vertical position in which at the extreme end of the switch point the web 13 is pressed into firm welding contact with the web 14 as illustrated in Figure 14. The face 82 is adapted to merge gradually with the upper surface of the ledge 80 as at 86, so that the flange 13 will not tend to buckle or jam in the die when it is folded over, but its outer edge will follow the smooth curvature 86 of the face of the lever. This portion of the lever is also designed to give to the switch point a configuration whereby it is adapted to snugly fit against the web and top surface of the base flange of the through rail.

In the modification shown in Figures 15-20 inclusive, the fixed die member parts are numbers 31 and 32 and the levers 41', 42, and 43 and are disposed in the same general position as the corresponding parts 31, 32, 41, 42, and 43 of the embodiment just described.

The lever 41 is provided with the bottom ledge 80 which enters slot 81 in the part 31' and is formed with the vertical workingface 82 which merges with the upper surface of the ledge 80 as at 86'. The web abutting projection 85 unlike its counterpart 85 is continued for only a portion of the length of the lever, and the upper portion of the outer end of the lever is cut away as at 89 to form a wall ofv the pocket 90 into which the surplus metal from. one side of the head of the blank is extruded.

A similar pocket 91 is formed upon the opposite side of the web 14 of the blank by providing the cut away portion 93 on the lower inner side of the lever 43. The ledge 75' and face 76" of this lever correspond to the parts 75 and 76 of the other embodiment and there is also provided a set back portion 7'7 but fora different purpose than the corresponding portion 77. This setting back of portion 77 provides a slot 95 intowhich the overhanging ledge 96 of the lever 42 is adapted to project. This ledge 96 overlies the head 11 and the surface 97 performs the same function in shaping the head of the blank as does the working face of the ledge 72 of the lever 42 of the first embodiment. The levers 41, 41', 43, and 43' are each provided with the trunnion pins 98 which are pivoted in bearing sockets in the fixed members ,30 and 30 at the pivot points of the levers,

and the smaller levers are provided with pivot pins 99 which project from one side only of the levers.

As indicated diagrammatically in Figure 1, a cut-off saw 100 of any suitable type is provided to sever the surplus longitudinally extruded metal from the end of the switch point, and in the case of the embodiment first described, a suitable saw 101 arranged in a horizontal plane may be employed to sever the metal which has been extruded into the pocket '70. .In order to remove the extrusions which are forced into the side pockets 90 and 91 in the modified form of my apparatus the laterally spaced vertically arranged saws 102 may be used.

Although the forging die 6 has been illustrated and described as occupying a horizontal plane, it is obvious that it can be set up or arranged in a vertical or any other convenient position without departing from the scope of the invention.

Furthermore, this invention contemplates the provision of dies for forming left hand as well as right hand switch points and it is conceivable that the various parts can be modified so that the same fixed die member may be used for making both right and left hand points by designing the die so that the inside portions of the fixed member which contact with the rail at 130 points not contacted by the levers are made detachable and interchangeable with levers of reverse design. In this case, two oppositely disposed cylinders 53 would be required and the cylinders 54 and 55 would preferably be equal in capacity.

It will be understood that various other changes and modifications which would suggest themselves to one skilled in the art to which this invention appertains can be made within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. The method of making railway switch 145 points which comprises pressing a track rail shaped blank in a die so that the metal of the head thereof is caused to flow botlr transversely and longitudinally thereof and bending one of the base flanges of said blank upwardly along 150 a diagonal line which converges from a point upon the outer edge of said flange near the buttend of the blank to the point of intersection of the base flange and web at the free or pointed end thereof.

2. The method of forming railway switch points, which comprises tapering the head portion of a blank rail and bending a portion of one of the base flanges thereof upwardly into conbase flange at said end with a point on the outer edge of said base flange near the opposite end thereof so that at such tapered end of the switch point said flange is in contact with the web of the rail.

5. The method as set forth inclaim 4 in which thebase flange is swaged or forged by extrusion of metal as well as bent.

6. The method of forming a railway switch point from a track rail shaped blank which comprises applying a short bevel to one side of the head of said blank and a longer bevel to the opposite side, and bending the base flange of the blank, on the same side thereof as said short bevel, upwardly from the horizontal toward the web of said blank.

7. The method of forging a tapered article from a blank having walls of less convergence than those of the finished article, comprising applying pressure to said blank at substantially all points over the entire area to be forged simultaneously and progressively from zero at one end of thearea to be forged to the maximum required at the other end of said area.

8. The method of forging a tapered article from a blank having walls of less convergence than those of the finished article, comprising applying pressureto said blank at substantially all points over the entire. area to be forged simultaneously and progressively from zero at one end of the area to be forged to the maximum required at the other end of said area, extruding excess portions of said blank transversely of said blank, and cutting off the extruded material from the blank.

9. The method of forging a tapered article from a blank having walls of less convergence than those of the finished article, comprising applying pressure to said blank at substantially all points over the entire area to be forged simultaneously and progressively from zero at one end of the area to be forged to the maximum required at the other end of said area, extruding excess portions of said blank both longitudinally and transversely of said blank, and cutting off the extruded material from the blank.

10. The method of forging a railway switch point from a track rail shaped blank comprising applyingpressure to the head of said rail shaped blank .at substantially all points over the entire area to be forged simultaneously and progressively from zero at one end of the area to be forged to the maximum required at the other'end of said area, and extruding excess portions of said blank longitudinally toward the smaller end of the switch point and also transversely thereof and cutting off the extruded material.

11. The method of forging a railway switch point from a track rail shaped blank comprising applying pressure to the head of said rail shaped conform to the desired tapered construction of the switch points.

' JOHN D. PUGI-I. 

